Bill Belichick Offers Candid Take On Patriots’ Win Over Chargers

It still feels strange to hear Bill Belichick break down Patriots games as an outsider, and it probably always will.

Nevertheless, during his weekly appearance on Jim Grey’s “Let’s Go!” podcast, the legendary head coach offered his take on New England’s wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last week.

“It’s kind of what we talked about last weekend when we previewed the game,” Belichick said, as transcribed by ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “I thought the Chargers would have trouble if they had to play from behind. They were never really able to get ahead and have control of the game. Once it became a two-score game and the passes increased, the pressure increased, and that just didn’t bode well for the Chargers.

“They had a great opportunity early in the game, didn’t hit it on fourth down, then got the ball on the turnover inside the 10-yard line and couldn’t capitalize on that. Those were kind of their chances to get some points and kind of flip the script and force the Patriots to play from behind. They were never able to do that.

“Once the Patriots played from ahead, and I’d say in the second half, Josh (McDaniels) really go tthe offense on track; they were consistent moving the ball. Then defensively, the Patriots played from ahead and played with their pass rush — put a lot of pressure on (Justin) Herbert. Which is an issue the Chargers have had since their rash of injuries this season.”

The Patriots are now preparing for this Sunday’s divisional-round matchup with the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. The winner will face the Denver Broncos or Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.